This letter was written by BIO Missionary Justin Sauder
Missionaries in Zambia
Recent Baptisms
Dear Praying Friends,
We are so thankful to everyone who has been lifting us up in prayer to our intervening Savior. God has been very good to us. About six weeks ago, we had a young man visit the church. He came after the service and told me he wanted to know more about Jesus. Several days later, after explaining from the Bible the truths found in God’s Word, we saw this young man named Cornelius come to know Jesus as his personal Savior. He has not missed a worship service since that time, and recently we baptized him along with six other new believers.
New Restroom Facilities
Men’s Meeting
Last week, I received a phone call from Cornelius that his nephew had died. We visited the family and learned that there was really no church involved in the funeral. We used this as an opportunity to minister to this family and preach the Gospel. I believe the Lord used the words that were spoken because the mother of the young boy who died, came to church for the first time this Sunday. Please pray for us as we follow up with this family and that the Gospel will penetrate their hearts!
Mr. Chisanga’s Funeral service
Recently, we have had three funerals associated with our ministry. One funeral was for an older man named Mr. Chisanga. I had many Bible studies with this brother while living in Zambia for the past two years, and Mr. Chisanga always gave a solid testimony of salvation. He had, however, never been Scripturally baptized; and it was my pleasure to baptize him. Sadly, we have had to say goodbye on this earth. We had the funeral service, and probably four hundred or more people came. During the period of time known as the “three days of mourning” in Zambian culture, several people made professions of faith; and for that, we are truly grateful. We rejoice in the hope that we will see Mr. Chisanga again.
Pastor’s House
In my last prayer letter, I asked that you pray for Danielle’s health. For the last nine months, we have struggled to get a diagnosis for the type of autoimmune disease she has. After much counsel from other doctors here and in the States, we feel it is best for us to take an early furlough to make sure we get her health back in order. To our knowledge, she has no major damage to any organs or anything; however, if this problem were to flare up, such damage could occur. If we can know for sure what the problem is, we can take measures to mitigate this possibility. We already have purchased airplane tickets for the flight to the United States and should be arriving the end of August. It is our desire that we can return to Zambia sometime in February. Please pray for us as we prepare for this unplanned furlough. God has sent us some special fellow laborers from the Philippines: The Cuaterno family will be watching over the work here in Zambia while we are away. We will be trying to visit many of our supporting churches while we are in the United States. If you would definitely like to have us give an update during this time, please email me.
Thank you for your love and support for our ministry! God is doing amazing things in this world, and we are honored to be a part of it. Seeing souls come to know Him as Savior is indescribable. May we all be actively witnessing in our own realm of influence and seeking to win the lost for Christ.
Lifting Up Jesus
Justin Sauder